Garments such as disposable absorbent articles have numerous applications including diapers, training pants, feminine care products, and adult incontinence products. The typical disposable absorbent article is formed as a composite structure including an absorbent assembly disposed between a liquid permeable bodyside liner and a liquid impermeable outer cover. These components can be combined with other materials and features such as elastic materials and containment structures to form a product that is specifically suited to its intended purpose.
One form of a disposable absorbent article is a two-dimensional product that has open sides. Two-dimensional products, such as conventional diapers and some adult incontinence products, are generally flat and provided in an unfastened configuration. These absorbent articles have typically included fasteners such as adhesive tape fasteners or hook and loop type fasteners that releasably connect the front and back waist portions to secure the absorbent article about the wearer. Two-dimensional absorbent articles can be easily applied or removed while the wearer is lying down.
Another form of a disposable absorbent article is a three-dimensional absorbent article with closed sides so that the absorbent article has a unitary waist opening and two leg openings. The wearer raises and lowers the absorbent article to apply the absorbent article. Three-dimensional absorbent articles are particularly appealing because the absorbent article has a garment-like look. Children, for instance, identify diaper products with babies and most children do not want to wear baby diapers, and instead prefer to wear absorbent articles such as training pants that look like adult underwear. Thus, the switch from a traditional diaper to a more garment-like or underwear-like training pant can be an important step in the toilet training process. Similarly, adults seeking the protection of incontinence products prefer the normalcy of a pant product rather than an incontinence product that must be applied in another fashion. Three-dimensional absorbent articles have been designed such that they can be torn to remove the absorbent article from the wearer after it has been soiled.
Recently, prefastened and refastenable disposable absorbent articles have been proposed to provide the advantages of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional absorbent articles. Prefastened and refastenable absorbent articles can be applied and/or removed either like a conventional diaper or like a conventional training pant. For use as training pants, for example, there may be times when it would be useful to apply the product like a diaper. For instance, it might be more convenient to apply the absorbent article like a diaper when there is a desire not to remove the child's shoes. Because it is difficult to known when a particular mode of applying the absorbent article will be needed, it is beneficial to have an absorbent article that is adaptable to being used either as a diaper or as a pant. This is preferable to keeping both types of absorbent articles available. An absorbent article that can be applied like either a diaper or a pant permits the interior of the absorbent article to be easily checked without having to pull the product downward.
Disposable absorbent articles present many manufacturing challenges. In part, this is due to the high speed that is necessary to economically produce relatively low cost disposable absorbent articles. Further, prefastened and refastenable absorbent articles present new challenges for high speed manufacturing. Such products must incorporate refastenable fasteners that are properly aligned and engaged. Improperly aligned and or engaged fasteners can lead to many product deficiencies, including machine waste and/or delay, improper fit, fastener delamination during use, fastener disengagement during use, skin irritation, or the like.
Generally, the prefastened and refastenable seams of such absorbent articles have been placed in the absorbent article such that they will be relatively centered at the side of the wearer of the absorbent article. In many instances, it may be desirable for the wearer of the absorbent article to be able to exert control over the donning and removal of the absorbent article and, in such instances, the prefastened and refastenable seams of the absorbent article need to be located in positions where it will be easier for the wearer to open the seams. Such locations tend to be closer to the front of the wearer rather than the approximate side of the wearer. To place the prefastened and refastenable seams at such locations requires that a pair of side panels which ultimately form the sides of the absorbent article be larger than the other pair of side panels. For example, the back side panels can have a width dimension, measured in the lateral direction of the absorbent article, which is larger than the width dimension of the front side panels. In such an example, the prefastened and refastenable seams will be positioned closer to the front waist region of the absorbent article.
Conventional manufacturing techniques for making conventional absorbent articles, including those absorbent articles with centered prefastened and refastenable side seams, are, in many respects, inadequate to handle an absorbent article with side panels of differing width dimensions.
There is need for a manufacturing process which can fasten and engage the fastening mechanisms positioned on side panels of differing width dimensions.